Sebastien Rale vs. New England: A Case Study of Frontier Conflict

Author\u27s original abstract: A study was made of the Jesuit missionary, Sebastien Rale, and his role in New England-New France relations. French and English primary and secondary materials were examined to give the broadest possible view of the man and to place him in historical context. It was found that Sebastien Rale was not an agent of New France. The conflicting opinions surrounding the mission of Norridgewock and the border war of the 1720\u27s were traced to the problems of Massachusetts-Abnaki relations. Rale\u27s frequent and testy letters to the government of the Bay Colony were blunt reactions to what he viewed as religious and territorial threats against his mission. The frontier conflict between 1713 and 1722 was not the result of French Imperial policy. The French insisted that the Abnakis were allies but refused active participation in the Indians\u27 quarrel with New England. Policy was developed in Maine by the Jesuits. The missionaries were only secondarily interested in Quebec\u27s desire to prevent Massachusetts\u27 settlement of the Kennebec. With the declaration of war in July, 1722, however, the Jesuits left the Abnakis in the hands of the governor and the intendant of New France on whom the Indians relied for vital war supplies. Finally, the controversial attack on Norridgewock was appraised. It was found that no secondary account had fully evaluated the sources. Examination led to the discovery of crucial inconsistencies in the primary accounts of New England. The French sources were found to be based on the understandably confused impressions of the fleeing Indians. In large measure the English sources present the more valid picture: the sudden attack, the panicked confusion, and Sebastien Rale dying with gun in hand. After Rale\u27s death the war drew to a close. Without Sebastien Rale\u27s persuasion and determination, the Abnakis were not able to present a united front against colonial expansion

British-American Rivalry for the Support of the Indians of Maine and Nova Scotia, 1775-1783

During the American Revolution, the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy-Malecite and Micmac Indian tribes were, a potentially powerful force in Maine and Nova Scotia. The white population of the region was small and scattered, and colonial leaders feared that the tribes would repeat their actions of the past wars, during which they had seriously harassed the frontiers. The officials of Nova Scotia and Massachusetts accordingly embarked upon a program to win the support of the Indians and to spare colonial settlements from attack. Both governments were sure that their opponents were trying to promote Indian warfare, and the resulting rivalry fed upon itself as each side secured minor victories. Both efforts were handicapped by serious problems, and neither side was able to defeat the other. The tribes were dependent upon goods and supplies secured from both sides and were forced to maintain relations with both contending parties

Concept of unity among Indian tribes of Maine, New Hampshire and New Brunswick

The purpose in writing this ethnohistory was not to prove that the tribes in Maine, New Hampshire and New Brunswick were unified, but rather, to illustrate the extent to which they were unified. With this general end in mind, my research therefore could not follow only one line of inquiry. It had to be divided into various sub-topics to cover my various orientations to the problem. One of my first orientations was that of validating my belief in a former unity through fieldwork among the Indians involved. This orientation provided the basis for my first chapter, which was considerably augmented by the advice and opinions of various experts in the fields of Ethnology and History. Convinced of the validity of my belief, I then proceeded with an historical orientation to the problem by attempting to clarify the confusion of terms and to identify the several groups of Indians, modern and historical. As intended, this line of inquiry verified my belief and suggested the area for further research. The earliest known tribes of\u27 Indians were identified as ancestors of certain modern tribes, the Etchemin and Armouchiquois (later the Abnaki) being the ancestors of the four surviving groups in question-the Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot , and St. Francis Abenaki. The confusing relationship between the two historic terms (Etchemin and Armouchiquois) was pr precisely the relationship sought for further clarification. Having exhausted most of the historical sources for this clarification, I turned to another line of inquiry-the bases for identification of the tribal groups . The cultural basis for identification was found to clarify to some extent the distinction between Etchemin and Armouchiquois, though on closer inspection local cultural differences were found to exist throughout this region rather than merely between the two major groups. Furthermore , these differences were minor when compared to the high degree of cultural uniformity which contributed in no small way to the feeling of unity between the two ancient groups. The linguistic basis for identification likewise clarified the distinction between Armouchiquois and Etchemin; however , once again the linguistic differences were found to grade from North to South rather than to exist in one sharp break. The final basis for identification -political- confirmed my belief in the former unity of these tribes, sporadic as it may have been. This line of inquiry illustrated that in spite of distinctions such as Armouchiquois or Etchemin, Indians of both groups united at various times for various purposes, at first under Bashaba and later under the Abnaki Confederacy

Apocalypse Now: War and Religion in Late Colonial and Early Republic America

ABSTRACT French “Idolators,” British “Heretics,” Native “Heathens”: The Seven Years’ War in North America as a Religious Conflict With France and Great Britain as its primary belligerents, the Seven Years\u27 War was an international conflict with a decidedly religious dimension, one based on the longstanding rivalry between Catholicism and Protestantism. In North America, the conflict galvanized clergymen in both the British and French colonies to frame the war as a religious struggle with potentially apocalyptic consequences. This discourse remains understudied by historians, and efforts to address religion\u27s role in America during the Seven Years\u27 War is usually one-sided, focusing either on the French or British experience. This paper aims to fill this historiographic gap by analyzing both sermons produced by Protestant ministers from across the American colonies and pastoral letters issued by the Catholic Bishop of Quebec between 1755 and 1763. Moreover, this paper argues that both French and British religious leaders viewed the Seven Years\u27 War as an extension of the Catholic-Protestant European religious wars of the previous century, and believed that the conflict\u27s outcome would determine the survival of their respective religions in North America. This paper also describes how Native Americans figured in this discourse, employing a combination of captivity narratives written by Protestant ministers and the reports of Jesuit missionaries to further illustrate the war\u27s perceived apocalyptic significance. ABSTRACT “The English Establishment Is, Itself, of a Beastly Nature”: Catholicizing Great Britain in Pro-War American Discourse During the War of 1812 In order to catalyze support for their cause against the British during the War of 1812, pro-war writers in the United States revived a rhetorical device that had once served their Revolutionary predecessors: the casting of Great Britain as an anti-Protestant and practically Catholic agent. Specifically, these writers were reacting to claims made by certain New England religious and political authorities shortly after the war’s inception that Great Britain was Protestantism’s “bulwark,” and as a result should be viewed as an American ally rather than as an enemy. An examination of pro-war newspaper articles and published sermons ranging in origin from Vermont to Maryland demonstrates how pro-war writers deconstructed Great Britain’s historically accepted role as Protestantism’s defender. It also reveals how this rhetorical strategy intensified in comparison to its brief employment during the Revolutionary period, thanks to the manner in which Napoleonic France was perceived as an effective check against the Papacy. Finally, these sources demonstrate the extent to which pro-war writers employed apocalyptic imagery from the biblical Book of Revelation to bolster their denunciation of Great Britain, which they argued stood alongside the Catholic Church as one of the beasts of the Apocalypse

Changing Their Guardians: The Penobscot Indians and Maine Statehood, 1820-1849

Throughout the nineteenth century in the United States, Native American and European cultures were often in conflict, consequently, Native Americans found it necessary to transform their traditional practices in order to adhere to the ever-changing environment These transformations included altering their hunting and gathering patterns since land speculators and industrialists appropriated the land and its resources, and encouraged agricultural development. They had to reconstruct their religion to fit the new Christian worldview They also had to rethink the role of traditional tribal politics in order to adhere to the laws of emerging governments. Native Americans throughout the United States were experiencing many of the same problems as white American expansion continued, but the focus of this paper will be upon the Penobscot Indians, a group within the Abenaki family of the Northeast. My thesis examines the relationship, which was an ongoing interaction, that developed between the Penobscot Indians and the State of Maine in the three decades following statehood The relationship they shared with Maine was similiar to the one they had with Massachusetts, it just became more refined. By researching the legislation and executive decisions concerning the natives, the petitions to the Governor and Council from many tribal members, and numerous secondary sources, the paper will focus on four central issues which include territorial matters, political representation, the equitable management of tribal resources, and the concepts of acculturation and assimilation. The study of Native Americans has acquired greater significance amongst historians, but many tribal histories, such as the nineteenth-century Penobscot, deserve further research; consequently, I have chosen to do my research on the Penobscot Indians. I chose this particular tribe because my life has been spent only a few miles from their reservation, and I have become interested in the young Native Americans with whom I am acquainted. The period of concern extends from Maine statehood in 1820 to approximately 1849 when the bulk of native petitions were sent to Augusta. This period in Penobscot history appealed to me because it is an area that is often overlooked in recent studies in Maine history. Indian history should be incorporated into other areas of history, not just in matters of the first European contact or during war times. Even when war was no longer a threat, Native Americans continued to be historical actors despite their smaller numbers and dwindling resources. Yes, Maine became a state in 1820, but what was happening in regards to Maine Indians is one question that usually is left unanswered

Asticou\u27s Island Domain : Wabanaki Peoples at Mount Desert Island 1500-2000; Acadia National Park Ethnographic Overview and Assessment Volume 1

https://digitalmaine.com/doi_feddocs/1008/thumbnail.jp

The emergence and decline of the Delaware Indian nation in western Pennsylvania and the Ohio country, 1730--1795

Many past and current generations of historians, anthropologists, and literary writers have acknowledged the existence of a Delaware Indian nation. They, however, have failed to thoroughly understand or address the historical and cultural dynamics that contributed to both the formation and quick decline of this Indian nation. This multidisciplinary study includes the oral traditions and oratory of Delaware Indians, the observances of Moravian missionaries and colonial-revolutionary officials, and contemporary anthropological and historical sources, to construct the building of the Delaware nation during the eighteenth century.;Once decentralized and living in the Delaware River watershed, three phratries or animal tribes (Turtle, Turkey, and Wolf) of Delawares, in response to their unfair treatment at the hands of the Pennsylvania-Iroquois alliance of 1732, moved west to the Allegheny Valley of western Pennsylvania and eventually across the Ohio River into the Muskingum River valley. Western Delawares developed a sense of common cause and weathered the turmoil of imperial conflict between the French and British during the Seven Years\u27 War in western Pennsylvania. A regional identity was greatly enhanced when western Delawares by 1765 separated themselves politically from their eastern kin who remained on the Susquehanna.;This dissertation also considers the creation of a National Council or Lupwaaeenoawuk, the influence of Moravian missionaries, and the importance of visionary leaders, such as Tamaqua, White Eyes, and Captain Pipe---three important factors, imperative to the story of Delaware centralization and nationhood in the Ohio. The stability of a lasting political Delaware nation, however, was undermined by the stress of factionalism in the Great Council as the American Revolution divided Delaware leaders in 1780.;This study will also examine the processes, which led to the fractured state of the Delawares after Washington\u27s Indian War in the Old Northwest Territory and the subsequent Treaty of Greenville that followed in 1795. The story of the Delawares from 1730-1795 demonstrates a dramatic and arduous struggle for autonomy, identity, and political union. In the end, however, the Delaware nation became weakened and broken, driven from the Ohio and forced to migrate west once again

The Powhatan Uprising of 1622 : a historical study of ethnocentrism and cultural conflict

HistoryDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.